Global Courant 2023-05-01 06:10:00
JOHOR BARU – A lack of prey in its natural habitat may have prompted a tiger from Kota Tinggi to wander to Felda Ulu Tebrau in Malaysia’s southern state of Johor.
According to Vincent Chow, president of the Malaysian Nature Society, there are reasons to believe that the tiger is looking for food.
The animal has already mauled three cows in the past two weeks, each weighing about 100 kg.
“The tiger could have come from Panti forest in Kota Tinggi, the jungle closest to Felda Ulu Tebrau,” Chow said when contacted on Sunday.
“For the past two years, we have been conducting research in Panti Forest, which is known as the gateway to Malaysia’s tropical forests because it has a lot of flora and fauna.
“However, during our research, we noticed that the number of wild boars in the area has been decreasing since October last year, which may be due to African swine fever.”
This could have forced the tiger to look elsewhere for food, he said.
The Panti forest area and Felda Ulu Tebrau – which is north of Johor Bahru – are about 50 km apart.
“Felda Ulu Tebrau is an ideal hunting ground for the tiger as there are settlers who keep cows there… Hopefully the big cat will leave the area soon and return to the forest,” said Mr Chow.
Based on the number of prey, he estimates that the tiger is a large tiger, weighing between 180 kg and 200 kg.
Mr Chow expressed concern that poachers would take the opportunity to hunt the animal and called for greater security in and around Felda Ulu Tebrau.
He also urged the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) to invite non-governmental organizations and tiger experts to help locate the animal.
“Capturing the tiger and moving it to a new environment will cause it more stress, especially if there are other tigers in the area, as it is a very territorial animal,” he added.
On Saturday, the tiger’s presence in Felda Ulu Tebrau – the first time in nearly 60 years – raised concerns among settlers about their safety.
